Keke Palmer Reveals The Biggest Problem Dating As A Young, Single and Successful Black Woman In Hollywood

Like most A-list Hollywood actresses, Berlin Station star Keke Palmer is a busy actress who’s constantly booked and always traveling. Palmer, who is single, recently revealed that having such a demanding professional life affects her personal life too.

While opening up to the hosts of ESSENCE’s Yes, Girl! podcast, the 24-year-old star revealed that sometimes it’s difficult for her to date.

“Dating is terrible for me,” the actress confessed to co-hosts Cori Murray, Charli Penn and Yolanda Sangweni. “When I tell you dating is terrible, it’s so terrible because, like, there are times where it will be industry situations and I can tell that the guy is more excited about my career than I am. I’ve dated guys in the industry that are like, ‘I can’t wait until you do a movie like Catwoman and movies like that,’ and I’m like, ‘Are you good? Because I don’t like you getting turned on by where my movie career is going!'”

Palmer admits that dating outside of Hollywood can be even more of a turn off than dating a fellow entertainer.

“Then there will be other situations when I’m dating a guy who is not in the industry or maybe he’s not that well known and he comes at me with that like, ‘Im going to get ready to do this and I got a lot of stuff going on and I’m working too’ and it’s like, I get it—you want me to know that you’re not a loser. Please stop overcompensating. So it becomes difficult sometimes to find that sweet spot of somebody who’s not trying to compete with you, that doesn’t feel insecure about your career and that’s not trying to hi-jack your brand.”

But the young star hasn’t given up on the idea of finding her perfect match. Palmer is clear on what kind of guy she needs, and she revealed that she isn’t going to settle in the mean time.

Listen to the rest of Palmer’s interview and the story of a missed encounter with her “Berlin bae” above.